Chapter 3

They dumped me on the floor of the ER at the hospital downtown.

The gash on my forehead had never been bandaged. The blood had dried on my face, crusting into an ugly mask.

Not far off, in a private VIP room, doctors and nurses fussed over Seraphina, whose only injury was a scrape that had barely broken skin.

Not one person even glanced my way.

Then, from the end of the corridor, came the sharp, rapid click of high heels.

I forced my head up. Through blurred vision, I made out a figure I knew all too well.

"Mom..." My cracked lips moved, and the tears broke loose all at once.

Madeline. My own mother.

Three years ago, it was she who had knelt in front of me, sobbing, begging me to save her current husband's daughter—begging me to take the fall for Seraphina.

"Valerian, please, I'm begging you! Seraphina can't go to prison—it would destroy this family, destroy the Sterlings! You just serve a few years, and I swear, I will make it up to you!"

That was what she'd said to me, three years ago.

"Mom... you're finally here..."

I dragged my bloodied, battered body forward and grabbed the hem of her coat, holding on with everything I had.

"Tell Darian! Tell him right now! It was Seraphina driving that car three years ago! You begged me to take the blame! Mom... say something!"

Dead silence filled the corridor.

Darian stood at the door of the private room, watching us with cold detachment.

Madeline looked down at my bloodstained hand clutching her coat, and something flickered across her face—disgust.

"Mom?" I froze. My heart clenched violently.

"What kind of nonsense are you spewing?!" Madeline yanked her coat from my grip and stepped back.

"Valerian, exactly how much longer are you going to keep this act up?!"

"What... did you just say?" I stared at her blankly, forgetting to breathe, forgetting the pain.

"Mom... I'm your own daughter... what are you talking about?"

"Don't you dare call me that!" Madeline cut me off sharply.

"Three years ago you stole Seraphina's car and killed someone. I only told everyone you'd had a breakdown to protect what was left of your reputation!"

"And now you're fresh out of prison, and instead of showing an ounce of remorse, you're trying to smear your own sister?!"

"Why?!" A ragged, anguished sound tore out of me. I lunged forward and threw my arms around her legs. "Why are you lying too?! Why?!"

"I served three years for her! While I was in there getting my leg broken, where were you?! Are you really willing to throw away your own daughter for the Sterling family's money?!"

A hand cracked across my face—loud, brutal.

It wasn't Madeline. It was Mr. Sterling, who had just arrived.

"A lying little tramp." Mr. Sterling's voice was ice. "Madeline, is this the fine daughter you raised? If Seraphina suffers any lasting trauma from this, I will have both of you thrown out of the Sterling family—for good."

Madeline flinched, visibly trembling, and whipped her head around to glare at me.

"Valerian, shut your mouth! You're a murderer—why did you even bother coming back to ruin our lives?!"

The words drove straight into my chest like a blade.

I looked at Madeline's face, twisted with revulsion. I looked at Mr. Sterling's cold, merciless eyes. I looked at Darian standing a few feet away, wearing that mocking, contemptuous smirk.

Something in me let go.

I sank to the floor—and started laughing.

"What's so funny?!"

"I'm laughing because I was blind!" I snapped my head up, my eyes bloodshot, and stared down every single one of them, my jaw clenched so tight it ached. "I'm laughing because I destroyed my entire life for a pack of animals like you!"

I swayed to my feet and pointed at them, one by one.

"You think this is over? You think three years in prison was enough to bury me for good?"

"What, you're still hoping to overturn the verdict?" Mr. Sterling let out a cold laugh. "With what—a convict who can't even afford a decent meal?"

"The evidence..." I stared straight at him, spacing out every word. "The dashcam footage from that car, three years ago. It was never fully destroyed. Was it?"

Mr. Sterling's face went white.